Rumor: Second generation Surface two to three years

The second generation of the Microsoft Surface, dubbed SecondLight, is …

Dubbed SecondLight, the second generation of the Microsoft Surface is still in the research and development phase, but we've already seen demonstrations of it in videos and at TechFest 2009. Those demos showed how SecondLight could project images (thanks to a second projector in the device) and detect gestures above the display (thanks to infrared sensors), meaning the user interface is no longer bound to the display surface.

All videos on the Internet showing off SecondLight, however, were posted four months ago. Now, according to a report from BBC News, Microsoft is two to three years away from launching the hardware refresh of the device, though a release date is still not clear. This is the first time we've heard a rough timeframe for release, or even talk of a secong generation device going commercial.

Microsoft Research describes the technology as follows: "It works by using an electrically switchable liquid-crystal diffuser as the rear-projection display surface. This material is continually toggled between diffuse and clear states, so quickly that the switching is imperceptible. When it is diffuse, the system behaves like a regular surface computer, but when clear, it is possible to project into and image the area above the display surface." There is also a 10-page report (PDF) report detailing the technology more thoroughly.